Here are some interesting tidbits from “The Mother Of Black Hollywood: A Memoir” By: Jenifer Lewis:

• She got a role on Broadway 11 days after moving to New York City.
• Like any other Black person in America, she has faced racism. She details some of her encounters with racism.
• She survived an attempted rape after moving to NYC.
• A large portion of her career was spent being the “Queen of High-Camp Cabaret.” She has more than a few “dalliances,” and she recounts many of them in this book…Her actions become understandable when she reveals her childhood abuse, and her mother’s reaction.
• She hilariously tells how she got to be front and center at Barack Obama’s Democratic Party nomination acceptance at the DNC.
• She talks about her encounters and relationships with many artists, and legendary people, such as: Whoopi Goldberg, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lena Horne, Gregory Himes, Tina Turner, Shirley Chisholm, Phyllis Hyman, Carmen McRae, Bette Midler, Prince Albert, Della Reese, Jon Voight, Shirley MacLaine, Chris Rock, Jane Pauley, Eddie Murphy, Charlie Murphy, Nina Simone, Sidney Poitier, Norman Lear, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Lynn Whitfield, Cree Summer, Robin Williams, Tupac Shakur, Barbra Streisand, Dick Gregory, Whitney Houston, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Isabel Sanford, Naomi Campbell, JFK Jr., Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne. (Note: These aren’t salacious stories. She says her book is not a “tell-all.”)
• She discusses how therapy helped her heal and grow. She also talks about being diagnosed with a mental illness.
• She discusses creating her acclaimed one-woman shows.
• She discusses becoming a mother to a little girl.
• She emphasis that her book isn’t a tell-all; she knows the damage gossip can do. Her book isn’t gossipy, and the reader gets a sense that there are a lot of stories she’s keeping to herself. However, she gets the point across regarding her life experiences, and lessons.

Here are some interesting tidbits from “Guillaume: A Life” By: Robert Guillaume:

• He grew up in St. Louis during the great depression. He went through a lot of family challenges growing up. Growing up he had to face poverty, racism, and miseducation. He poignantly describes what this was like.
• His early life taught him that American society felt: “What is grace in a white man is arrogance in a black man.”
• He discusses getting roles and building a career as a Black man in America. He also discusses acting, and building a career, outside of America.
• He frankly discusses, and explores, the harsh racial dynamics of America and its affect on his life and his perspectives.
• He discusses meeting, and working with, Sammy Davis Jr. and Harold Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers.
• He briefly discusses seeing Nina Simone perform, and living next door to Miles Davis
• He details his role as a father and his relationships with his children.
• He discusses his friendship with actor Ron O’Neal, and tactfully describes the affect Hollywood had on him.

I definitely recommend this book. It was a great read.

Here are some interesting tidbits from, “The Rise, The Fall, The Recovery” By: Spencer Haywood:

• Spencer Haywood had some very interestingly varied life experiences. He experienced the most extreme poverty, as well a fame and fortune.
• He picked cotton in the deep South as a child.
• He poignantly describes the racism that he experienced growing up. His childhood experiences in the deep South, including picking cotton, would have you thinking he grew up in the 1800s, not in the 1950s and 60s.
• He was a trailblazer in many ways, including being the first professional basketball player to go the pros before finishing college. (This involved litigation and a bevy of court cases.) He also pioneered professional basketball players being able to make the high salaries that they make today.
• He became an Olympic gold medalist during the Olympic Games that Tommie Smith and John Carlos famously protested racism in America.
• He played basketball in Venice. He described Venice in a way that makes me want to go there for an extended visit.
• He interestingly recounts his marriage to supermodel Iman.
• He was Nike’s first national representative.
• He was great at investing, although he also got ripped off like a lot of his peers. His investments include ownership in a shopping mall.
• He fell victim to drug addiction. He details the adverse effects of this and how he recovered.
• He studied African history with Dr. Ben. He even traveled to Egypt with him.
• He details how he combated his miseducation, and cultivated his love for Black history.